Plus Ultra
Plus Ultra (+U) is a secret society, comprised of the greatest minds throughout history, that created Tomorrowland. Their motto is "Cras es Noster" which means "Tomorrow is Ours" in Latin. It was founded in 1889 by Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Jules Verne, and Gustave Eiffel. It went on to include other members such as Mark Twain, Ray Bradbury, and Walt Disney. By creating Tomorrowland, members hoped to build a technologically and scientifically advanced world without hindrance or interference. History On September 9, 1889, a secret meeting was held in the private apartment at the top of the Eiffel Tower, during the 1889 Universal Exposition of Paris. Gathered at this meeting were four of the greatest minds of the time: Gustave Eiffel, Thomas Edison, Jules Verne, and Nikola Tesla. Eiffel, the host of the meeting, posed three questions to the men: What is the best possible future for all mankind? How do we make it? How do we make people want it? Each man held a different answer. Edison felt our world to be too fragile for the wrong answer, yet was intrigued by the idea of Utopia. Tesla wanted a playground of boundless creativity, free from corrupting influences of any kind. Verne wanted codes of ethics, to remind people what they were working towards and working for. While the men didn't quite meet eye to eye, they agreed and concluded that progress and innovation wasn't moving fast enough, and that they had to put aside their differences and self-interests and work together to make the world better.http://games.disney.com/tomorrowland-app Thus, led to the formation of a secret society of similar forward thinking and optimistic people. It was Verne who suggested the name. He remembered the the warning "Non Plus Ultra," given to the heroes of antiquity venturing into realms unknown. Thus,they called their society “Plus Ultra”, Latin for “further beyond”. By forming this society, they hoped to bring the best and the brightest people together to further drive progress and change the world. On May 17, 1899, Plus Ultra scientists, working in Colorado Springs, detected small, electromagnetic signals of exotic origin. Using experimental technology, they traced the energy signals to a world very much like Earth, except unclaimed and unspoiled. On June 30, 1908, Plus Ultra launched a rocket from Siberia carrying the experimental, exploratory aircraft, the Columbiad, to the Other World at 9:32 A.M. Later, at exactly 12:47 P.M. +U tried and failed to bring back the exposition by thru nuclear detonation. At 1:47 P.M., they tried again, and detonated another bomb. This time they succeeded, and brought the Columbiad back thru a rip in the fabric of reality, with just seconds to spare. Robert Peary reported that the terrain they had surveyed was rich in resources and hospitable for colonization. Filippo Marinetti, on the other hand, was visibly rattled by the experience, and for weeks could only muster one word out of unintelligible speech: Beautiful. These experiments would become known as the "Tunguska Event." In 1926, Plus Ultra was performing experiments with subatomic particle beams to create a seemingly safer way to reach the Other World. However, by 1928, it was discovered, when the society's zeppelins burst into flames, that the experiments had caused the Other World to become uninhabitable. It took several years in man and robot hours to repair the damage. By 1937, Plus Ultra began it's "Running Start" program, a technique in which society aircraft made portals to the Other World in areas where the fabric of reality is quite thin. Leading this program was Amelia Earhart. In June and July of that year, Earhart began her experiments along the equator, under the guise of a world flight. She, a Faustus android, and her co-pilot Fred Noonan made several jump attempts in South America, India, and Asia. On July 2, they made their final attempt to jump in the Central Pacific. As they were about break thru the reality barrier, they were shot down by Henry Stevens, who was on a nearby island below. Amelia and the Faustus made it to the Other World, but at the loss of Noonan. Earhart was later able to make it an old Plus Ultra outpost and contact the others. By 1955, Plus Ultra had a permanent residence at Disneyland, which was created by member Walt Disney. By 1966, Plus Ultra had recruited its last known inductee, Ray Bradbury. Members Founders *Nikola Tesla *Thomas Edison *Jules Verne *Gustave Eiffel Later Members *Herbert George (H.G.) Wells *Samuel Langhorne (Mark Twain) Clemens *Auguste Lumière *Louis Lumière *George Washington Carver *Marie Curie *Bertrand Russell *Hugo Gernsback *Bertrand Russell *Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti *Robert Peary *Albert Einstein *Leo Szilard *Fritz Lang *Howard Hughes *Amelia Earhart *Fred Noonan *John Von Neumann *Le Corbusier *Orson Welles *Jacques Cousteau *Walt Disney *Max Stevens *Henry Stevens *David Nix *Carlos Moreau *M.T. Lott *Ray Bradbury Former Members *Werner Rotwang *Friz Dunquesne *Frank Walker (temporarily) Recruitment Since its founding, Plus Ultra has recruited and trained its members at various world’s fairs, expositions, and other special events. Not only did they use these events to recruit new members, but to also demonstrate their technological and scientific achievements and give a glimpse at life in Tomorrowland. To be recruited into Plus Ultra, one had to meet certain criteria and guidelines in order to join or be asked to join. Recruiters and scouts were given these recruiting tactics at designated areas and sent out into the field. They were: * Identify artists with a gift for positive, optimistic future-thinking. *Must be amenable to working in mediums not yet discovered. *Communication skills a huge plus. *Avoid artists whose work focuses on anger, despair, hopelessness. *Identify brilliance based on innovation and insightfulness. *Look for those who are already solving the problems of the future. *Make sure projects are not burdened by contemporary theories. *Avoid entrants fixated on financial gain. *Focus on applicants with expertise in space and para-phasic travel. *Avoid those who did not pass security clearance. *Befriend faculty at institutes of higher learning. **Favorable locations include MIT, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon. *Candidates will posses qualities of optimism and confidence in the future. *Initial contacts should be in technology, science, and humanities divisions. *Avoid those who display traits of cynicism, doubt, bitterness. *Hint at technologies beyond the currently possible. *Solicit constructive feedback at the ends of Factual episodes. *Encourage viewers to submit their own visions of tomorrow. *Avoid those who take a dim view of the future and/or the Science Factual program. Expositions and Events *1889 Universal Exposition of Paris (Where Plus Ultra is founded) *1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition (First exposition sponsored by +U) *1900 Universal Exposition of Paris (Where H.G. Wells is recruited by Jules Verne) *May 16, 1903 Luna Park, Coney Island *1926 Santa Monica Pier "World Of The Future" Exhibit *1939 New York Word's Fair *1939 First World Science Fiction Convention *July 17, 1955 Disneyland *1959 Disneyland Expansion *1964 New York World's Fair *2013 D23 Expo Anaheim Gallery Crasesnoster_2.jpg|Plus Ultra Coat of Arms Plus U Logo.jpg|+U seal Cras es Noster.jpg|Coat Of Arms at Disneyland's Club 33 dHI1tCU.jpg|Plaque at the bottom of Tesla's statue dar1.jpg|Memo 1 dar2.jpg|Memo 2 dar3.jpg|Memo 3 dar4.jpg|Memo 4 dar5.jpg|Memo 5 Exp-close.jpg|??? References Category:Characters Category:Organizations